By Lucca Szast, AAU Communication & Public Affairs

How do we get more young people to vote in municipal elections? This is the question that students in International Business Communication will help Aalborg Municipality answer.

In Aalborg Municipality, voter turnout in the 2021 municipal elections was lower than the national average, and it was young voters in particular who stayed home from the polls. Kirja Holland Thomsen, Head of Communication at Aalborg Municipality says:

"It's a special challenge, and we think we have a responsibility to address it," she says, adding that studies show that those who vote when they are young vote for the rest of their lives.

The municipality is thus partnering with Aalborg University. During the spring, students worked on proposals for initiatives to get young people to want to vote in the November election.

Welcomes the challenge

In 2021, Aalborg Municipality ran a number of campaigns to get more young people to vote, to limited effect. So the municipality was very interested in the students' suggestions:

"Maybe the municipal language is a little too dry. It may well have something to do with the tone," says Kirja Holland Thomsen.

The students worked on communication plans for the municipal elections as part of their programme in International Business Communication where they are taught by Sophie Gulstad. 

She says the students were told they were welcome to challenge the municipality and push them a little to reach the young target group.

"The students collected data on the target group, including through interviews. There is much evidence to suggest that many young people are at a point their lives where they lack both knowledge and interest in the municipality. There are several things we are looking at and trying to integrate into the work," says Sophie Gulstad. 

In the classroom, the students used the LEGO Serious Play method to spark creative ideas.

"It's a method where we use LEGO to facilitate creative thinking, problem-solving and communication. The students made constructions that represent their ideas, thoughts and perspectives in idea generation," says Sophie Gulstad. 

The collaboration culminated earlier this week when the students presented their communication plans to, among others, Kirja Holland Thomsen. She has now taken the students' ideas back to Aalborg Municipality where they can use the suggestions in planning the November election.

Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication & Public Affairs